Regarding the article "Police halt Moscow gay pride rally" (May 28): It is not true that I "traded blows" with a Russian man.

In fact, my aide and I only received blows as we were trying to give to the mayor of Moscow a letter signed by 50 members of the European Parliament requesting authorization for the march of tolerance in accordance with the European Convention of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, to which Russia is bound.

It's not my style to trade blows or to carry out violent protests. I belong to the Nonviolent Transnational Radical Party, an association of citizens, parliamentarians and members of government of various national and political backgrounds who intend to create, through nonviolent methods, an effective body of international law with respect for individuals and the affirmation of democracy and freedom throughout the world.

STOCKHOLM, Sweden: A group of Swedish politicians have invited Moscow's Mayor Yuri Luzhkov to Stockholm's gay pride parade in August to experience "the power of love," a spokeswoman said Thursday.

In a letter to Luzhkov, the five members of the Stockholm City Council criticized his "homophobic statements" and urged him to lift a ban on gay pride processions in Moscow.

"It is enormously important that (Russia) moves in the right direction and respects human rights. Being homosexual belongs to those rights," said Liberal Party member Lotta Edholm, one of the co-signers.

On Sunday, Russian police detained gay rights activists, including at least two European lawmakers, as they tried to hold a demonstration in downtown Moscow while members of a hostile crowd punched the activists and pelted them with eggs. Earlier this year, Luzhkov vowed never to allow a gay rights parade, calling such events "satanic."

"Such homophobic statements from a person in your position risk deteriorating an already alarming situation for lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender people in Russia," the five Stockholm politicians said in the letter sent Tuesday.

They invited Luzhkov to attend the gay pride parade in Stockholm on Aug. 4 "in order for you to see the power of love." Edholm said there had been no immediate reply from the mayor.